The party rests at Greenest during the early morning, and by midafternoon is prepared to proceed. Governor Nighthill asks that they go after the cultists, whose trail can be easily followed to the southeast. He would like 1) information on why the cult is attacking, 2) the rescue of the monk Leosin Erlanthar, and 3) recovery of as much of the town's valuables as possible. The town has nothing left to offer as a reward but he will happily give a share of any recovered loot. The party sets out, and soon spies a cookfire as the grassland begins to give way to rocky terrain. They find a group of cultists and kobolds have stopped for a meal in a boulder-strewn area. Choosing quickly to attack, the party makes short work of them, leaving none alive. Another half-hour or so down the trail, they come across an eerily similar area, and Bron the barbarian spots someone hiding behind the boulders. The mage Varcus makes an attempt to speak to him, but his only answer is a crossbow bolt! There are several cultists, including two spell-casting acolytes, led by a veteran soldier. The Kenku monk takes some significant hits, but the cleric is able to keep him upright and the party is victorious. This time, one of the cultists is captured by the rogue Induris. Unfortunately, no one in the party is skilled enough in interrogation to obtain much useful information...all they learn is that he belongs to the Cult of the Dragon and that the main camp is nearby. Taking the cultist apparel from the fallen, the group proceeds to the main camp. The rogue scouts the outskirts of the camp from the surrounding cliffs, and briefly flirts with an ill-considered leap from the cliff to the top of a guard tower, but thinks better of it and returns to report. They decide to pretend to have captured Bron the barbarian, using the cultist apparel to improve the deception. This successfully gets them past the front guard and into the camp, where they explore until finding a guarded prisoner hut where the monk Leosin and seven other prisoners are held. The prison hut guards are easily fooled by the scintillating conversational skills of the cleric Shazz'm and allow the party to place Bron inside. Good teamwork - distraction by Shazz'm and the Kenku monk, stealth from Induris, a sleep spell from Varcus, prisoner play-acting by Bron - gets the guards inside the hut where they are easily defeated without alerting the rest of the camp. Using their cultist apparel to hide the identities of the prisoners, they lead out the first four without incident, passing the entrance guards thanks to a story from Varcus about worship of the dark goddess Shar. The second trip for the remaining prisoners raises the suspicion of the entrance guards, though, and the party is forced to defeat them quickly and then beat a hasty retreat. Between the conversations they had in the camp and Leosin's knowledge, the party learns that the Cult of the Dragon means to bring about the return of Tiamat, the evil Queen of Chromatic Dragons, from her place of banishment in the Nine Hells. They've been looting many towns to gather a hoard for the dragon queen, not just in Murghôm but through all of Faerûn. Leosin has actually come from the Sword Coast in hopes of enlisting the aid of Chelnadatilar, since metallic dragons are known enemies of their chromatic cousins. Upon return to Greenest, Governor Nighthill greets the party enthusiastically with profuse thanks for both the information and rescue of the prisoners. He has even found some gold coins that were hidden well enough to avoid the looters, and rewards each character 250 gold pieces. They rest for a day (gaining level 4). Word has been sent to Chelnadatilar who will come to discuss the problem of the cult as soon as he is able.